<p>VitisGen, a 2011 project partially funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Research Initiative, is helping scientists and grape breeders identify the best possible grapevines to grow desirable grapes faster and easier.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> According to a USDA blog post, one of the dilemmas with growing grapes is that there’s a “New World-Old World dichotomy,” where grapevines originating in the Americas (e.g. Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia) can resist pests and diseases, but they don’t have the taste or aroma of grapes with European origins (Vitis vinifera). However, European grapes are more susceptible to pests and disease. Although breeders attempt to grow grapes that have the best qualities of both, there is no guarantee that the progeny will inherit those traits. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that it could take 20 years to bring a new grape to market after the vine has been grown, grapes have been produced, and subsequently evaluated.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> To solve this problem, VitisGen scientists at Cornell University, South Dakota State University and the USDA Agricultural Research Service operate three “Phenotyping Centers,” where breeders can send vine samples for laboratory evaluations and genetic analyses. After receiving samples from “families” of 100 to 200 vines, each center can then screen these samples for one of three key traits: fruit quality, cold tolerance, or resistance to powdery mildew.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> The VitisGen project is scheduled to run until 2016. In its first two years, scientists have already created the largest genetic database for any specialty crop in the United States, according to Lance Cadle-Davidson, the USDA-ARS scientist who helps oversee the effort. They have also developed genetic fingerprints of 8,000 grapevines, identified 1.2 million DNA markers, and discovered linkages between these markers and the traits. This information can help breeders identify vines containing desirable grapes more easily than ever before.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://blogs.usda.gov/2013/09/03/a-new-world-old-world-problem-and-how-genetic-fingerprints-may-help/" target="_new"> United States Department of Agriculture </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
